Meiosis: inducing variation by reduction.

A brief introduction is presented with some thought on the origin of meiosis. Subsequently, a sequential overview of the diverse processes that take place during meiosis is provided, with an eye to similarities and differences between the different eukaryotic systems. In the final part, we try to summarize the available core meiotic mutants and make a comprehensive comparison for orthologous genes between fungal, plant, and animal systems.

[Adult-onset acute rheumatic fever: 4 cases in Guadeloupe]. / Le rhumatisme articulaire aigu débutant à l'âge adulte: 4 observations en Guadeloupe.

OBJECTIVE: Rheumatic fever has become infrequent in developed countries. Recent regional epidemics, particularly in North America, brought our attention to this disease in our area. In the French Caribbean Islands, rheumatic fever remains an important health problem despite much progress in the last 15 years. METHODS: A retrospective survey over the last 5 years identified 19 cases of rheumatic fever in Guadeloupe in subjects over 19 years of age. RESULTS: Among these subjects 4 cases of rheumatic fever beginning in adulthood were analysed and compared with data in the literature. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of rheumatic fever beginning in adulthood is difficult to establish. Joint symptoms are variable and cardiac involvement, which occurs in 30 to 40% of the cases, is highly suggestive. The kinetics of antistreptococci antibodies confirms the diagnosis.

[Peusoxanthoma elasticum with multiple calcinosis and hyperphosphoremia]. / Pseudoxanthome élastique avec calcifications multiples et hyperphosphorémie.

INTRODUCTION: Subcutaneous and vascular calcifications are classical manifestations of pseudoxanthoma elasticum. Visceral calcifications sometimes associated with unbalanced phosphocalcium leels are uncommon. CASE REPORT: We observed pseudoxanthoma elasticum in a French Caribbean patient who had extensive acneiform skin lesions with transepidermal elimination. Multivisceral calcifications were associated hyperphosphoremia alone. DISCUSSION: The pathogenic sequence of phosphocalcium disorders in this disease are discussed on the basis of calcifications and hyperphosphoremia observed in this case and from data in the literature.

[Cowden disease: treatment with acitretine]. / Maladie de Cowden: traitement par acitrétine.

INTRODUCTION: Cowden's disease is a rare hereditary skin disease which is important to recognize due to the risk of cancer. CASE REPORT: A 40-year-old man was hospitalized for psoriasis. He presented florid papillomatous lesions involving the lip and the buccal cavity, a thyroid adenoma and polyposis of the gut. The diagnosis of Cowden's disease was retained. Treatment with acitretin, 0.75 mg/kg/d was initiated for the psoriatic lesions. Hypertrophic lesions of the lip and mouth regressed during treatment but reappeared when the drug dose was tapered of then withdrawn. The course of the polyposis was not verified. DISCUSSION: This case demonstrates the frequency of digestive tract involvement in Cowden's disease and the favorable, though transient, effect of oral retinoids on mucosal lesions in Cowden's disease.

[Cerebrovascular accidents and AIDS]. / Accidents vasculaires cérébraux et SIDA.

A number of pathological and clinical data suggest that AIDS could be an underestimated cause of cerebro-vascular disease, especially in young individuals. Eight retrospective cases of stroke in AIDS patients are reported. Mean age was 39 years, mean CD4 cells count 57/mm3. Pathogenic mechanism, particularly the role of opportunistic infections remains unclear. Prognosis does not seem constantly pejorative: only one patient died from stroke, six are still alive with a 6 months follow-up, without relapse and with minor or no sequellae. Alcohol or cocaine (crack) abuse was present in half the cases. The role of specific risk factors and consequently adapted prophylaxis is questionned.

[Tropical sprue: diagnostic difficulties. Apropos of 2 cases in Guadeloupe]. / Sprue tropicale: difficultés diagnostiques. A propos de deux cas en Guadeloupe.

The authors report two cases of tropical sprue occurring in Guadeloupe, in the French Lesser Antilles, a region in which this disease had previously been reported only once. One of the patients was treated with quinolone (ofloxacin).

Seroepidemiology, viral isolation, and molecular characterization of human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I from La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean.

Data indicate the presence in the Seychelles Islands of a high level of human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I) endemicity as well as the presence of tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). We present here the results of an hospital survey performed since 1988 in La Réunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean southeast of the Seychelles archipelago, aimed at evaluating HTLV-I endemicity, detecting HTLV-I-associated diseases, and characterizing viral isolates. Seven individuals were found to have HTLV-I-specific antibodies in their sera. These include 3 of 257 patients from St. Pierre Hospital, 1 of them exhibiting a typical clinical feature of TSP/HAM (the first described case in this region), 1 blood donor of 3900, and 3 relatives. A further nine individuals exhibiting only "gag-encoded proteins" by Western blot (p19 and/or p24 bands) were found negative by polymerase chain reaction using LTR, pol, and tax HTLV-I specific primers. A long-term T cell line, designated Mel.J, exhibiting T cell activation markers (CD4+, CD25+, HLA-DR+), and producing HTLV-I antigens and viral particles, was established from one of the HTLV-I,-seropositive patients. The sequence of a 522-bp fragment corresponding to the carboxy terminus of gp46 and the majority of gp21 were determined for five HTLV-I-seropositive individuals, including the TSP/HAM patient. Alignment and phylogenetic comparison of these five nucleotide sequences with all the 53 other available HTLV-I env sequences demonstrated that the virus from La Réunion Island belongs to the group of the HTLV-I cosmopolitan subtype and is not related to the Melanesian HTLV-I variants.

[Digestive histoplasmosis in a patient with AIDS from Guadeloupe]. / Histoplasmose digestive chez un malade Guadeloupéen atteint du SIDA.

The authors report the case of a 45-year-old HIV and HTLV1 antibody positive male patient form French West-Indies who was infected by disseminated histoplasmosis presenting as acute diarrhea. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed gastric mass and colonoscopy patchy erythematous mucosa. The diagnosis was made by histology of bone marrow specimens, upper gastrointestinal tract and colon biopsies, and late skin lesions. Initial therapy with amphotericin B and itraconazole was successful, but maintenance therapy with itraconazole alone did not prevent relapse and a fatal outcome. Disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS patients may be present as gastrointestinal manifestations and should be kept in mind in non endemic areas such as the French West Indies.

[A rare peritoneal tumor: malignant mesothelioma]. / Une tumeur péritonéale rare: le mésothéliome malin. A propos d'un cas et revue de la littérature.

A peritoneal mesothelioma is described. The diagnosis was established by histological study. The clinical and radiological presentation are nonspecific. Contact with asbestos fibers is rarely reported and not obtained in this case. The clinical, radiological, histological presentations and therapeutic aspects are discussed.

[Blind ureter associated with a dysplastic kidney and ureterocele. Apropos of a case and review of the literature]. / Uretère borgne associé à un rein dysplasique et une urétérocèle. A propos d'un cas et revue de la littérature.

The association of a blind ureter with dysplastic kidney and ureterocele is known in children but are in adults. This paper presents one case, and provides simple diagnostic clues which help to recognize the malformation.